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Sunbury council moves to draft citywide moratorium on data centers after residents raise health and land-use concerns
Summary
After an extended public-comment period focused on data-center impacts, Sunbury City Council directed staff to prepare moratorium legislation for first reading, citing environmental, health and zoning questions and awaiting guidance from a state commission tied to House Bill 646.
Sunbury — Dozens of residents urged the Sunbury City Council on April 1 to pause approvals for data centers, and council members agreed to bring a moratorium ordinance forward for initial consideration at their next meeting.
Residents who spoke during a lengthy public-comment period described worries about noise, traffic, water use and potential local pollution from so-called hyperscaler facilities. "We are watching this happen in Hilliard right now as Amazon is installing 228 natural gas-powered fuel cells there," said Nicole Shipley, a resident who asked the council to "require renewable energy sources" and to avoid approving fossil-fuel or diesel backup generators.
Mayor St. John outlined a proposed moratorium that would apply citywide to applications and agreements tied to data centers, including AI data centers and hyperscalers, and said staff will prepare legislation for first reading. He recommended timing the moratorium to allow the new state-level commission created under House Bill 646 to publish guidance, suggesting an initial end point near the end of the year or within 12 months with the option to extend.
Speakers at the meeting offered specific local concerns. Ronald Chimeleski, whose property abuts the Bluestone parcel, said a PCD applicant had withdrawn but continued to seek spot-zoning divergences and that a planned parking lot would sit at the border of his property, increasing noise and traffic. Christine Gilman warned of high water use and low-frequency noise and said Sunbury's zoning language predates the recent AI boom.
City Manager Hennessey told council staff are tracking public comments and have grouped them under economic, transparency, quality-of-life and environmental-health categories and said staff will seek independent analysis and wider public forums. He said staff are arranging larger meeting space with Big Walnut Local Schools to host a community forum and that moratorium language would appear as a first reading on the next agenda unless council expedites the process.
The council did not take a final vote on the moratorium at the April 1 meeting; members discussed scope (a citywide moratorium tied to definitions of data centers/hyperscalers), justification (health, safety and welfare questions) and the legal ability to extend a moratorium if necessary. The mayor said the moratorium should allow staff and a council-appointed body or commission to guide public engagement, independent studies and potential zoning adjustments.
Next steps: staff will prepare draft moratorium legislation for first reading at the council's next meeting, and the council expects additional public engagement and review of state-level guidance from the HB 646 commission before lifting any moratorium.
